Wikimedia project page
This is adirectory ofWikipedia's how-to and information pages , alongside other relatedadministrative pages in theWikipedia andHelp namespaces. New to Wikipedia? See ourintroduction for aspiring contributors . If you require interactive assistance, seeasking for help . For other useful directories and indexes, seedirectories .
Most common questions
About WikipediaNote : You can use thesandbox to experiment with page editing.
Contributor information
Frequently asked questionsFAQ main page – questions about using and contributing.Administration – answers some questions related to Administrators.Article subjects – what to do about a specific articles.Categories – about using Wikipedia's categories.Contributing – answers to questions commonly asked by contributors.Copyright – four most commonly asked questions about copyright.Editing – answers the most common questions about editing.Forking – how do I download and use Wikipedia content.IRC (live chat) – about "chat rooms" – real-time discussions.Organizations – editing without displaying a conflict of interest.Problems – solving problems you may encounter when browsing or editing.Readers – addresses concerns and questions readers may have.Schools – questions teachers, librarians and administrators might have.Technical – answers some questions related to the technical workings.(Miscellaneous ) – questions that do not fit into any of the others above.
How to pagesHelp:help – explains how to find and navigate the help pages.Books – explains how to make and download Wikipedia books.Categories – explains how to edit categories.Copyright – explains how to deal with copyright concerns.Diff – explains how to view the difference between two versions of a pageEditing – explains the basics of editing.Find sources – explains how to find references.Files – explains how to manage media.Footnotes – explains how to add notes and references.Nesting footnotes – explains how to include a note or referencewithin a note or reference.Glossary – quick overview of terms.Infobox – explains the basics about how to use infoboxes.IPA/English – explains how the International Phonetic Alphabet system works.List – explains how to add lists.Linking – explains how to add internal links.Link color – explains how to add color to link text.Logging in – explains how to access your account.Magic words – explains how words surrounded by brackets or underscores function.Media – explains the basics of seeing media.Merging – explains how to consolidate articles.Mobile access – explains how to access Wikipedia from mobile devices.Navigation – explains how to get around Wikipedia.Other languages – explains how to deal with other languages.Page name – explains how to deal with page titles.Redirect – explains how to direct pages to the proper place.References – explains how to make those complicated sources work.Citation Style – explains some of the different reference styles.Cite errors – explains how to deal with errors in references.Rename – explains how to change your user name.Password – explains how to change your personal password.Reverting – explains how to roll back edits.Searching – explains how to use Wikipedia more effectively.Section – explains how to edit just portions of a page.Talk pages – explains the basics of what to do on talk pages.Students – explains the basics for students.URLs – explains how to add and deal with external links.User contributions – explains how to view editors additions.Watching pages – explains how to track pages.
Technical help
Special pages
Links and diffs
Media files: images, videos and sounds*Media help
Other graphics
Customisation and tools*Customisation
Automating editing
Navigation
Coding (Wiki markup)Wiki markup – explains the coding used by text, links, & talk pagesBarchart – explains how to make charts.Calculations – explains how to make complicated calculations.Characters – explains how to add special characters.Citations quick! – simplistic examples of two preferred ways of doing footnotes (reference).Columns – explains how to make columns.HTML – explains how to use HTML in text.Musical symbols – explains the basic coding of music symbols.Sound files – explains the basic coding sound files.Tables – explains the basic coding for making tables.Wiki table – more advanced coding information on tables.Templates – explains the basic for templates.Documentation – explains the basic of how to properly document template information.Visual files – explains the basic of coding for visual media.Wiki tools – various tools and tutorials intended to simplify, make more efficient, or provide additional functionality.
Templates and Lua
Tutorials
Introductions
Wiki MarkupMain introduction – quick overview of what Wikipedia is all about.Editing – the basic pages on how to contribute to Wikipedia.Images – introduction to adding images to Wikipedia.Manual of Style – introduction to the style guide for articles.Media – how to add media to Wikipedia.Navigating – Wikipedia is a big place.Policies – how to apply policies and guidelines.Sourcing – why references are so important.Tables – how an where tables are used and how to make them.Talk pages – how to communicate within Wikipedia.
VisualEditorEditing with VisualEditor – a five part introduction to editing with VisualEditor. Opening the editor. Toolbar basics. Links and Wikilinks. Saving your changes. SummaryReferencing with VisualEditor – a five part introduction to referencing. Verifiability. Inline citations. RefToolbar. Reliable sources. Summary.Uploading images with VisualEditor – a six part guide on uploading images. Introduction. Free content. Non-free content. Wikimedia Commons. Using an image. Summary.
Training modules
The Missing ManualThe Missing Manual – comprehensive how-to guide (book) that explains everything about contributing for novice to expert editors.Introduction – originally written in 2008 by John Broughto, the Manual has since been expanded and updated by many others.
Part I – Editing and Creating ArticlesFirst edit – explains what you see when you look at an article in Wikipedia's editing window and how to practice.Sourcing – you will need to learn some technical matters.Account setup & personal space – having an account actually protects your privacy better than editing while logged out.Creating articles – get a much better sense of what articles in Wikipedia should be like.Page history & reverting – as an editor you're likely to want to see what other editors do to articles you've edited.Monitoring changes – experienced editors monitor articles they've edited.Vandalism & spam – explains in detail what you, a Wikipedia editor, can do in terms of spotting and fixing vandalism and spam.
Part II – Collaborating with Other EditorsCommunicating with others – you will need to know how to use the pages where editors interact and collaborate with each other.WikiProjects – many editors at Wikipedia work together in groups, formal or informal.Content disputes – if you find yourself involved in a content dispute ...Incivility – shows you helpful ways to respond to incivility and personal attacks directed against you or other editors.Helping others – shows you all the places and ways you can lend other editors a hand.
Part III – Formatting and Illustrating ArticlesSections – shows you how to effectively use sections in an article.Lists & tables – shows you how to create and edit both lists and tables.Images – shows you how to place an image in an article, after you or someone else has uploaded it.
Part IV – Building a Stronger Encyclopedia
Part V – Customizing WikipediaPersonal preferences – "My Preferences" is where you can change a number of settings that control how pages look and function.JavaScript – you can customize Wikipedia in ways that make your editing easier with scripts.
Part VI – AppendicesWikipedia Pages – when you're registered, and logged into Wikipedia, you'll see links in a number of places.Reader's guide – background on what Wikipedia is and how to get the most out.Learning more – shows you the myriad places you can go, both inside and outside Wikipedia.
Interactive assistance (help forums)
Questions about WikipediaReplying to help requests – contains guidelines for users who respond to questions about how to use or edit posed by other users.
Help desk – the "main page" for asking questions about how to use or edit Wikipedia.Teahouse – a "very friendly place" for new editors to become accustomed to and ask questions about editing.
General knowledge questionsReference desks – you can ask questions about any topic at the specific pages listed below.Computing – to ask about computing, information technology, electronics, software and hardware.Entertainment – to ask about sports, popular culture, movies, music, video games, and TV shows.Humanities – to ask about history, politics, literature, religion, philosophy, law, finance, economics, art, and society.Language – to ask about spelling, grammar, word etymology, language usage, and translations.Mathematics – to ask about mathematics, geometry, probability, and statistics.Science – to ask about biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, geology, engineering and technology.(Miscellaneous ) – to ask about anything that is not listed above.
Specific help and mediation
Technical issuesVillage pump – main directory divided into five boards by topic (as seen below), to discuss the technical issues, policies, and operations of Wikipedia.Policy – to discuss changes to existing and proposed policies.Proposals – to discuss new proposals that are not policy-related.Technical – to discuss technical issues. For wiki software bug reports, use BugzillaIdea lab – to discuss ideas before proposing them to the community and attempt to find solutions to common issues.(Miscellaneous ) – to post messages that do not fit into any other categories listed above.
Other ways to get helpSpecial services – a section on theRequest departments page that lists the alternative ways of getting help as seen below.Place{{ Help me }} (including the curly brackets) "then your question" onyour talk page , a volunteer will visit you there! If you require personaladministrator assistance in regards to blocking, deleting, protecting, personal harassment or legal threats you can place{{ Admin help }} (including the curly brackets) "then your concerns" onyour talk page , an administrator will visit you there! Adopt-a-User – is where you can find experienced Wikipedians that "adopt" new users and mentor them.Co-op – a mentorship space where you can work with an experienced Wikipedian to learn about and improve Wikipedia.Join the#wikipedia-en-help IRC channel for real-time chat. Contact Wikipedia – is a page that describes how and where to contact Wikipedia directly for a variety of reasons.
Community standards and advice
Policies & guidelines – describes how policies and guidelines should normally be developed and maintained.How-to and information pages – about pages that contain technical and factual information or supplement guidelines and policies in greater detail.Essays – Although essays are not policy or guidelines many are worthy of considerations.Advice pages – guideline about advice pages written by WikiProjects.Accessibility – guideline primarily intended to assist those with disabilities, it can be helpful for all readers.Article deletion – policy about how articles and other Wikipedia pages can be removed from general view.Biographies of living persons (BLP) – guideline about how bios on living persons must be written with great care.Libel – policy about how it is the responsibility of all to ensure that material posted is notdefamatory .Avoiding harm – essay that contains the ideas behind the philosophy that formed theBLP .Blocking – policy behind how administrators technically prevent users from editing.Child protection – policy about the behavior and actions of adult editors with regards to children.Offensive material – guideline about how articles may contain offensive words and images, but only for a good reason.Citing sources – guideline that contains information on how to place and format citations (references).Verification methods – essay about several common methods that Wikipedia editors use to make their articles verifiable.Referencing for beginners – essay that shows you how to use the most popular system for providing inline citations.Conflict of interest – guideline about how it is best to not edit Wikipedia to promote your own interests.Consensus – the primary way decisions are made, its accepted as the best method to achieveour goals .Copyrights – policy that states permission is granted to copy, distribute or modify text underCC BY-SA 3.0 Editing policy –Be bold in updating articles in afair andaccurate manner , becauseperfection is not required .Etiquette – principles of decorum, also referred to as "Wikiquette", how to work with others on Wikipedia.Ignore all rules (IAR) – policy that states if arule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia,ignore it .Image use policy – policies towards images, like content and copyright issues—applicable to "English Wikipedia".Manual of Style (MOS) – main guideline page that describes communal consensus on layouts and presentation.Neutrality (NPOV) – policy about how articles should represent the views of main scholars and specialists on topics.No original research (OR) – policy about how all material must be attributable to a reliable, published source.Notability – guideline that outlines how suitable a topic may be for its own article or list.Fringe theories – guideline about how articles should not make a fringe theory appear more notable than it is.Notability essays – list of essays that summarizes the gist of user written essays on notability.User rights – the ability to perform certain actions in Wikipedia depends on an editor's user access level.Verifiability (RS) – policy stating how readersmust be able to check that articles are not fabricated or embellished.Understandability – guideline about how all should strive to make each part of every article as understandable as possible to the widest audience of reader.Words to watch – guideline about how certain expressions should be used with care.Vandalism – if you see vandalism in an article, the simplest thing to do is just to remove it.
DirectoriesDirectory – the main list of "Wikipedia" and "Help" namespace directories and indexesAbbreviations – a list of all the abbreviations used on WikipediaDepartments – a list of all the different divisions of Wikipedia.Editor's index – a list of all the pages to help people who edit pages.Essays – a list of pages that contain advice or opinions from one or more Wikipedia contributors.FAQ – a list of frequently asked questions by topic.Glossary – a list of terms (slang) commonly used by editors.Guidelines – a descriptive list of official guidelines for "English Wikipedia"Manual of Style – a descriptive list of the pages which make up the Manual of Style.Policies – a descriptive list of official policies for "English Wikipedia"Quick directory – a small list of key pages with emphasis on interaction between members of the community.Shortcuts – a list of abbreviated redirects and the pages they lead to.Tips – a list of "tips" created by users atTip of the day project .
Help contents by topic
Further reading (external links)Note – publications below may contain out of dated information or images.
Sister projects (external links)
Content (?)
Conduct (?)
Deletion (?)
Enforcement (?)
Editing (?)
Project content (?)
WMF (?)
Adminitis Ain't no rules says a dog can't play basketball Akin's Laws of Article Writing Alternatives to edit warring ANI flu Anti-Wikipedian Anti-Wikipedianism Articlecountitis Asshole John rule Assume bad faith Assume faith Assume good wraith Assume stupidity Assume that everyone's assuming good faith, assuming that you are assuming good faith Avoid using the preview button Avoid using wikilinks Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense Barnstaritis Before they were notable BOLD, revert, revert, revert cycle Boston Tea Party Butterfly effect CaPiTaLiZaTiOn MuCh? Case against LLM-generated articles Complete bollocks Counting forks Counting juntas Crap Diffusing conflict Don't stuff beans up your nose Don't-give-a-fuckism Don't abbreviate "Wikipedia" as "Wiki"! Don't delete the main page Editcountitis Edits Per Day Editsummarisis Editing under the influence Embrace Stop Signs Emerson Fart Five Fs of Wikipedia Seven Ages of Editor, by Will E. Spear-Shake Go ahead, vandalize How many Wikipedians does it take to change a lightbulb? How to get away with UPE How to put up a straight pole by pushing it at an angle How to vandalize correctly How to win a citation war Ignore all essays Ignore every single rule Is that even an essay? Keep beating the horse Mess with the templates My local pond Newcomers are delicious, so go ahead and bite them Legal vandalism List of jokes about Wikipedia LTTAUTMAOK No climbing the Reichstag dressed as Spider-Man No episcopal threats No one cares about your garage band No one really cares No, really No self attacks Notability is not eternal Oops Defense Play the game Please be a giant dick, so we can ban you Please bite the newbies Please do not murder the newcomers Pledge of Tranquility R-e-s-p-e-c-t Requests for medication Requirements for adminship Rouge admin Rouge editor Sarcasm is really helpful Sausages for tasting Spaling Muich? Template madness The Night Before Wikimas The first rule of Wikipedia The Five Pillars of Untruth Things that should not be surprising The WikiBible Watchlistitis We are deletionist! Why you shouldn't write articles with ChatGPT, according to ChatGPT Wikipedia is an MMORPG Yes, falsely Yes legal threats You don't have to be mad to work here, but You should not write meaningless lists
About essays Policies and guidelines
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Useful links
Daily pages Things to do Resources Policies / Guidelines Administrators External links